The present invention relates to a condenser used in a refrigeration cycle which constitutes, for example, a car air conditioner.
Herein and in the appended claims, the upper side, lower side, left-hand side, and right-hand side of FIGS. 1 and 2 will be referred to as “upper,” “lower,” “left,” and “right,” respectively.
There has been known a condenser of a refrigeration cycle which constitutes a car air conditioner (see Japanese Patent No. 4743802). The known condenser includes a condensation section, a super-cooling section provided above the condensation section, and a liquid receiver provided between the condensation section and the super-cooling section. Each of the condensation section and the super-cooling section has at least one heat exchange path formed by a plurality of heat exchange tubes disposed parallel to one another such that their longitudinal direction coincides with the left-right direction and they are spaced from one another in the vertical direction. Refrigerant flowing out of the condensation section flows into the super-cooling section through the liquid receiver. The liquid receiver has a refrigerant inlet through which the refrigerant from the condensation section flows into the liquid receiver, and a refrigerant outlet which is located above the refrigerant inlet and through which the refrigerant flows out to the super-cooling section. A partition member (horizontal plate) is disposed in the liquid receiver at a vertical position between the condensation section and the super-cooling section so as to divide the interior of the liquid receiver into a first space communicating with the condensation section through the refrigerant inlet, and a second space located above the first space and communicating with the super-cooling section through the refrigerant outlet. A suction pipe which is open at upper and lower ends thereof and establishes communication between the first space and the second space is disposed in the first space of the liquid receiver. The interior of the suction pipe communicates with the second space through a communication opening in the form of a through hole provided in the partition member. An operation member is provided on the upper surface of the partition member.
In the condenser described in the above-described publication, the refrigerant having passed through the condensation section flows into the first space within the liquid receive though the refrigerant inlet, flows into the second space through the suction pipe, and then flows into the super-cooling section through the refrigerant outlet.
However, the condenser described in the above-described publication has the following problem. When a refrigeration cycle including the above-described condenser is charged with refrigerant, a relatively long time is needed until the refrigerant charge amount reaches a proper charge amount for realizing a predetermined degree of super-cooling. Also, the width of a stable range within which the predetermined degree of super-cooling is realized is relatively narrow.